Champion of Change: Jodie Patterson

Jodie Patterson is an activist, author, businesswoman and a mother of five who has spent much of her life heavily engaged in the fight for gender equality. A native New Yorker, Jodie grew up around girls and women – she was the youngest of four sisters, attended an all-girls high school and college, and was raised by strong matriarchs who played a big role in her passion for women’s rights.

Jodie is also an LGBTQ ally and activist, authoring the book The Bold World (due for publication in 2019) about getting to know her transgender son, Penelope. In her book, Jodie admits that she used to assume that “gender was the way it was taught to me – either male or female” and believed that she had failed when her daughter said that she was a boy. So she decided to educate herself on what was going on, leading her to question her beliefs and find a renewed understanding of the world.

Aside from her activist accomplishments, Jodie is the director of PR for Zac Posen, as well as the founder of Doobop, an online retailer that carries beauty products that are carefully curated for women of color.

Jodie is one of the many inspiring people selected as part of our Champions of Change campaign, which honors individuals who have made a difference in the lives of women and girls in the Metro New York area or globally.